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FtF-USAID AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROJECT
SIL-ADVANCE-ATT SOYBEAN THRESHER DESIGN AND FABRICATION TRAINING
REPORT OF WORK COMPLETED; August 25, 2016
Kerry Clark, Soybean Innovation Lab; [email protected]
209 Mumford Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211; 1-660-351-4696
http://soybeaninnovationlab.illinois.edu/
The objective of this workshop was to teach business development and design and
fabrication of crop threshers appropriate for smallholder use and financial means to 12
community-oriented blacksmiths from Upper West, Upper East and Northern Ghana (three from
each region plus three from Tamale Implement Factory). The rationale for the training was that
locally fabricated threshers can be produced more inexpensively than imports and local
fabrication expertise will provide a knowledgeable work force for thresher maintenance and
repair. There is currently very little local production of timesaving equipment such as threshers
in Ghana. More widespread availability and lower costs will allow more smallholder farmers to
access thresher technology, reducing workload and harvest drudgery, and allowing for easier
scale-up of production agriculture.
Details of the training are listed in following sections, but I
first want to communicate the essence of the training. I believe that
this was one of the best workshops that I have ever participated in
during my 27 year career working in agriculture. The trainers were
excellent and hit on incredibly important topics, the venue was well
suited for the event, and the participants were extremely receptive and
appreciative of the lessons. I believe that the subject matter was
incredibly appropriate and the timing of the training was essential for
the blossoming of a new industry in Ghana at a time when the country
is poised for new technology that can lead to increased production
and improved agricultural sustainability. The cell phone revolution
has opened the door to information and communication that will have
a cascading effect throughout this society. Without this improved
communication, we could not even have contacted many of these
people and had all invitees show up at the right place and time. At the
close of the training, several participants made long heartfelt speeches
about how excited and happy they were to have been included in the
training, which will allow them to get in on the bottom floor of what
can become an important new industry in Ghana. My greatest reward
was their participation and hard work. This was topped off with a
wonderful Facebook message a week after the end of the training that included photos (right) of
one participant making his first thresher immediately after his return home. Not only is he
providing a service to local farmers, but I see in the photos that he is already teaching five other
people the fabrication techniques he has just gained from the USAID-funded training.
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Date and Location of Training
August 1-8, 2016 at the Tamale Implement Factory in Tamale, Ghana.
Instructors
The thresher designer and lead fabrication instructor was Gabriel Ayichim Zulkarini
Abdulai, an engineer from SARI and the secondary instructor was Baba Issahaku, a welder from
SARI. Both were present and working all eight days of the workshop. Philip Atim from CRS
facilitated the workshop and selected the participants. Kerry Clark from SIL also facilitated and
helped educate participants in thresher utilization. Bernard Alando, a data manager from UDS
and a consultant from Innovative Trends Ghana conducted the business training on day seven.
Tamale Implement Factory (TIF)
Muhammed Mutawakil, the chief administrator of TIF, participated in the training.
Theodore Ahiafor, the TIF shop manager, both participated in the training and served as a
technical advisor to participants. The TIF provided workspace, arc welders, small hand tools, an
electric grinder, metal benders and rollers, and a drill press.
Final Agenda
Day 1- Classroom curriculum by Gabriel Abdulai and Baba Issahaku on basic thresher
components, reading and interpreting written designs, measurement calculations, general
welding techniques and welding and shop safety.
Day 2- 6- Fabrication of threshers with instruction from Gabriel Abdulai and Baba Isshaku.
Day 7- Business training with Bernard Alando; building a thresher business, keeping records,
accessing customers, and customer service. Continued fabrication.
Day 8- Wrap-up of thresher fabrication and painting threshers. Workshop wrap-up.
Participants
Upper West participants were identified by MEDA, Upper East and Northern participants
were identified by CRS and MOFA extension agents. Three welders from the Tamale Implement
factory were also included. Participants worked in groups based on their region of origin with
one TIF welder joining each regional group.
Name Age Town Phone Region
Akolgo Samson Nyaaba 35 Bolga 200333669 Upper East
Holy Nyaaba 32 Bawku 246622678 Upper East
Naba Patrick Asaliya 45 Bolga 203191312 Upper East
Yakubu Issahaku 65 Nyankpala-Tolon 246168906 Northern
Rashid Fuseini 22 Saboba 505185770 Northern
Akara Koboumbo 35 Chereponi 540568616 Northern
Edward Akwetey 35 Nandom 208811339 Upper West
Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Karim 32 Wa 207881206 Upper West
Imoro Donmuah Sufiyanu 37 Gbolo-Sissala 205353888 Upper West
Alhassan Eliyasu Tamale 242855961 Tamale Implement Factory
Gideon Azure Tamale 246935391 Tamale Implement Factory
Mohammed Fuseini Tamale 246566888 Tamale Implement Factory
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Final Budget
ADVANCE FUNDING Unit Cost Quantity Frequency Total (GHS) Total (USD)
Hotel 75 9 8 5,400 1,406
Meals 46 12 8 4,416 1,150
Transport (RT Wa -Tamale) 120 3 1 360 94
Transport (RT Chereponi - Tamale) 60 3 1 180 47
Transport ( RT Bolga -Tamale) 60 3 1 180 47
Use of Tamale Implement Factory 200 8 1,600 416
Engineer/ Teacher Salary 400 1 8 6,400 1,664
Business Development Specialist 400 1 1 400 104
Welder/ Teacher Salary 100 1 6 600 156
ADVANCE Total 19,536 5,084
ATT FUNDING Unit Cost Quantity Frequency Total (GHS) Total (USD)
Gas Powered with Robin motor 3,268 1 3,268 851
Gas Powered with Honda motor 2,068 1 2,068 539
Pedal Powered 1,294 1 1,294 363
ATT Total 6,630 1,753
SIL FUNDING Unit Cost Quantity Frequency Total (GHS) Total (USD)
Safety gear for participants (welding
gloves, helmets) 106.80 12 1,282 334
Extra tools for training (4 saws, 3
hammers, 9 chisels, 12 tape measures) 236 62
Two training manuals 25.20 12 302 79
Extra meals for trainers/TIF staff 23.50 12 8 2,260 589
Shirts and certificates 42 15 630 164
Payments to Tamale Implement Factory
Parts to make equip. functional 1,345 350
Power/electricity 750 195
Salaries for 3 TIF welders 1,200 313
75% cost share for participants next
thresher 1,200 10 12,000 3,125
SIL Total 20,005 5,211
Labor
The costs of the threshers listed in the budget above include only the material costs.
Labor for each thresher required approximately 150 man hours. As expertise and experience
increase, required man hours should decrease by approximately 10%. Improved access to
fabrication equipment and tools can also lead to decreased production time.
Deliverables
Business Training Manual, Bernard Alando- bound copy given to ADVANCE
08/08/2016
Design and Fabrication Training Manual, Gabriel Abdulai and Babba Issahaku- bound
copy given to ADVANCE 08/08/2016; this is being updated with final designs and a new
copy will be emailed to ATT and ADVANCE upon completion.
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Thresher operation and maintenance manual- currently being developed by Gabriel
Abdulai, will be given out with three threshers fabricated during training and will be
made available to fabricators for subsequent thresher sales.
Powerpoint on Business Training- will be emailed to ADVANCE and ATT
Powerpoint on Design and Fabrication- this is being updated with final designs and will
be emailed to ATT and ADVANCE upon completion.
A press release and photos have been sent to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale.
A documentary on the thresher training and thresher use in the targeted rural
communities is being completed by Catholic Relief Services and will become available in
approximately November 2016
A training video based on work done in this workshop will be completed by Kerry Clark
(SIL) and will become available by December 2016.
A training powerpoint for thresher end-users is being completed by Kerry Clark and will
be utilized by CRS during thresher distribution. This presentation will demonstrate best
management practices of threshing on site to retain plant residue and organic matter in
the field where the plants were grown.
Three threshers built at this workshop will be going to SIL research villages in the
Northern Region. Follow-up surveys by SIL social scientists assessing the impact of
threshers on soybean production will be done in 2018. The research villages are:
Gbalo, Chereponi District- receiving thresher with a Robin engine
Kpalsagu, Tolon District- receiving thresher with a Honday engine
Decheeni, Saboba District- receiving a pedal-powered thresher
Tamale Implement Factory Support
Kerry Clark, from SIL, is working with the TIF to build a website featuring their products
and their ability to host training events. We will seek to place the website on a free server so that
its continuing existence does not require cash infusion from the Factory. Additionally, Gabriel
Abdulai and SIL will assist the TIF with implementing new products or reworking existing
designs. Muhammed Mutawakil from TIF is preparing a list of agricultural NGOs in Ghana and
West Africa that we will contact with information about TIF and its capabilities as both a
training and production facility.
Participant Resources
Each workshop participant was interviewed at the onset of the training to determine
current product focus, size of operation, relative experience, and equipment, tools and materials
availability. All participants reported that they had access to electricity and an arc welder. Five
reported that they did not own a drill, an essential tool for thresher fabrication, but that they
could hire out the thresher piece (the concave) that needs to be drilled. Four of the nine also do
not have a metal grinder. One participant, Abdul-Hakeem, had designed and built threshers
previously. Hakeem was actually the inspiration for this training because on a visit to his shop,
SIL saw that the capability and desire to make threshers existed in Ghana but that there needed to
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be training on improved designs and fabrication methods to make a more durable and cost-
effective product. Two participants had previously built corn shellers, five had some experience
with agricultural products and two had never worked in agriculture prior to the training. All but
two reported that they could easily find appropriate materials in their areas of Ghana to construct
threshers. All but one believed that they could find people in their areas willing to purchase the
thresher design that the training focused on. Only the welder from Chereponi stated that he did
not think women would be interested in threshers and that they would continue to thresh using
sticks.
Workshop Evaluation
All participants were interviewed at the end of the training to determine the effectiveness
of the workshop and to evaluate the usefulness of the resources provided. All were very emphatic
that the training was extremely valuable. They were so happy to have been included that one
actually shed tears when talking about what it meant to him to receive a possible new source of
business. Some positive aspects of the training listed were:
Helpful attitude of the instructors
Having the TIF equipment available to them
The high quality of the materials bought for the threshers
Having food brought to them for snack and lunch. They all stated that this helped
provide much-needed energy during the construction process
Gave them a chance to upgrade their skills
Gave them knowledge on written designs
Practical experience building a thresher gives them confidence to do one on their
own
The business training provided valuable new insight on how to grow a business
and to price products for business sustainability
The only negative aspect of the training that any of them could think of was that the
Implement Factory lacked some necessary tools such as saws, compasses and scribes that would
have made the construction process easier. We also discussed the quality of the design, which all
thought was excellent. We did have one glitch in one design – the blower on the pedal powered
machine does not turn fast enough- but that is being addressed in the final design book that will
be distributed to all welders by CRS as soon as the engineer has completed it.
When I inquired if they would have attended if there had been a fee charged or if their
expenses had not been covered by USAID, they all stated that they would not have been able to
attend because the problem of lost wages added to the expense of the workshop would have been
too great. Before attending, they did not realize how valuable the training would be so that
unknown would also have been an impediment to paying their own way.
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Thresher Placement
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and SIL are teaming with RING to place two of the
threshers into rural communities where RING has ongoing projects. Sensitization and placement
will occur prior to the 2016 harvest. RING’s development model does not require cost share on
inputs, so that model will be followed for the threshers going to Decheeni and Kpalsagu. CRS
and RING will work together on community sensitization and identification of appropriate
beneficiaries. Placement will be through RING-organized Village Savings and Loan
Associations.
The third thresher, going to Gbalo, will be placed in accordance with the CRS
development model, which is to require cost share or buy-in from the beneficiary. The exact
methodology is still being determined by CRS. This thresher will also be placed prior to harvest,
2016. At the time of placement, the blacksmith-trainees in these three districts will accompany
CRS and deliver training to end-users on operation and maintenance and beneficiaries will also
receive an operations and maintenance manual. Additionally, CRS will deliver training on best
management practices for in-field threshing to retain plant residues and organic matter.
Thresher Research Project
SIL scientists are currently designing a research project that will include fabricator and
end-user follow-up from this training as well as introduce new research questions on the need for
formalized training vs informal information and design sharing, equipment utilization,
dissemination strategies, long-range effects of technical training and localized production, and
gender impacts of both the introduced technology and the methods by which the technology is
introduced/disseminated.
Evaluation of this training will continue at six months intervals for two years. Evaluation
will include identification of beneficiaries, how the technology reached them and how they
benefited from the technology/information. Benchmarks to be measured include: number of
machines produced and sold, changes in employment in the soybean value chain as a result of
the technology, changes in agricultural investment, public-private partnerships formed, and
number of agricultural firms operating more profitably. Within the SIL research villages,
monitoring and evaluation will include hectares of crops serviced, time savings or costs
compared to manual threshing, costs incurred or saved with thresher use and changes in farming
practices influenced by threshers. Additionally, post-harvest interviews with beneficiary groups
will determine the affordability of the technology, the durability and functionality of the design,
and the access that organizations and individuals had to the technology. WEAI and Soybean
Uptake Network Surveys in SIL Villages planned for 2016-2018 will help determine
experimental factors that were most important in increasing household soybean production and
utilization.
Social Media and Collaboration
The people involved with the Thresher Training Workshop formed a Whatsapp group
that allows us to trade photos, design ideas and progress reports. One participant went out on the
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final day and bought a smart phone so he could connect with the others in the group. Those with
Facebook have also formed new digital friendships and have been sharing experiences. Teaming
participants by region worked well and many new friendships and collaborations were formed as
a result of the training. Information on material sourcing and equipment availability was being
exchanged and offers of assistance and partnerships were common by the end of training.
Future Training/Workshops
This workshop served as a practice and prototype for trainings that SIL would like to
scale up and present throughout Africa. This opportunity helped us determine a reasonable
budget and feasibility of our timeline and educational methods. Our thresher designs were fine-
tuned during the training and will be further field tested this harvest season. In a country of 25
million people and a continent of 1.1 billion, we have reached just 12 welders with this training.
Although we believe that good information and designs will make their way to interested parties
via many informal paths, there is still a huge need to bring improved agricultural technology and
supporting information to both fabricators and end-users. To achieve this, we will continue to
seek funding support for an ongoing program to localize agricultural technology manufacturing
in Ghana and other interested nations. We also plan to branch out into design and fabrication
training for planters and other implements made with appropriate technologies that will support
increased soybean and other crop production in Africa.
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Photos
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Gabriel Abdulai, Designer and Instructor